Cyclones still seek first win in leagueThe Russellville Cyclones have struggled with slow starts all season and during their homecoming game against the Northside Grizzlies on Friday inside Cyclone Stadium, it cost them the game. Russellville didn’t score until the fourth quarter when they put 20 points on the board to narrow the margin to 27-20. For Russellville head coach Jeff Holt, it’s about preparation. “We had opportunities in the first quarter to get things going, but we did...

RJHS East sweeps GreenbrierThe Russellville Eastside Lady Whirlwinds swept the Beebe Junior Badgers on Monday inside Whirlwind Gymnasium. Russellville (28-1) won in two sets 25-0, 25-13. Brittney Pehrson ahd four points, four aces and a kill, while Emily Posey had three points and four kills. Katelyn Womack scored three points and three aces and Bailey Wilbers had six kills and a block. Brianna Basinger scored eight points and three aces. Marissa Williams scored two ace...

RJHS East eighth-grade football wins 2nd straightThe Russellville Junior High eighth-grade Whirlwinds toppled the Morrilton Devil Pups on Thursday at Cyclone Stadium. After stopping Morrilton on its first possesion, a Caleb Ball blocked punt set up Eastside on the Morrilton 35-yard line. It only took one play to score as Josiah Woodard went in from 35 yards out to make it 6-0. Eastside scored again on the first play of their next drive as Gunnar Howerton hit Ball for a 55-yard touchdown to m...

RHS golf is 6A state runner-upMOUNTAIN HOME — In a season that Russellville Cyclones head golf coach Roy McSpadden described earlier in the year as a “rebuilding year”, the Cyclones golf team finished as the Class 6A state runner-up after shooting a two-day total of 639 in the state tournament at Big Creek Country Club on Tuesday. Monday, Russellville claimed the 6A-East Conference championship the day before. “It was a really big accomplishment” McSpadden said. “They were...

River Valley glance — winners rise to the topWeek 6 — let’s get right into it. We still have a lot of questions after Week 5, but we have some answers as well. Some teams have risen above the pack and proved to the Arkansas River Valley and the state that they aren’t going down with a losing season this year. Others, well, they aren’t quite there yet. There’s still time — but it’s running out — fast. Business as usual • Pottsville Apaches — The Apaches are happy to have gotten through th...

Cyclones golfers take 6A-East Conference crownMOUNTAIN HOME — The Russellville Cyclones golf team won the Class 6A-East Conference tournament held at Big Creek Country Club in Mountain Home on Monday. “For us to win conference is just amazing,” Russellville head coach Roy McSpadden said. “We haven’t been playing that good throughout the season, but we’ve been showing some signs of coming around and the last couple of weeks they boys have been working harder and they started to gel. They’v...

Gators adorn helmets with Childhood Cancer Awareness ribbonsPLAINVIEW — When the Two Rivers Gators took the field against the Fountain Lake Cobras on Friday, something was different. It wasn’t much — possibly unnoticeable to those who weren’t looking — but each Gator helmet was adorned with a small white sticker with the image of a yellow ribbon. The stickers read: Childhood Cancer Awareness. Because it matters. The stickers weren’t the brainchild of a coach, teacher, administrative member or anyone in...

RJHS East wins Devil Pup InvitationalMORRILTON — The Russellville Junior High Eastside Whirlwinds volleyball went undefeated on Saturday in the Devil Pup Invitational held at Devil Dog Gymnasium in Morrilton. Eastside emerged from pool play 6-0 with a 20-5, 20-7 win over Mayflower, 20-6, 20-9 win over Clinton and a 20-9, 20-10 over Morrilton. Brittany Pehrson collected 17 points and five kills during pool play, while Emily Posey had nine points and two kills. Bailey Wilbers had 1...

Warriors stay perfect with win over MansfieldMANSFIELD — Lamar Warriors head coach Josh Jones was glad to see Friday night’s game against the Mansfield Tigers come to a close. Even though Lamar (5-0, 3-0 3A-4 Conference) thumped the Tigers 36-7, Jones said it was a tough, physical game that left many of his kids hurting the next morning. “Mansfield was an extrememly physical team, and they beat us up pretty bad,” Jones said. “We were banged up and bruised, and the kids were tired. When w...

Pottsville’s clutch drive slips past Sand LizardsDARDANELLE —There was no stopping the Pottsville’s methodical 15-play, 73-yard drive that put the Apaches up 21-12 with 3:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. The touchdown and the ensuing Sand Lizard three-and-out made the spread too wide for a Dardanelle come-back on Friday at Keenan Field. “It was a hard fought win,” Pottsville head coach Bryan Rust said. “I think we got complacent in the second half, but when we had to have plays, we made t...

Hector rolls through Magazine 33-8 in 2A-4 matchupHECTOR — The Hector Wildcats rode a dominating first half performance to win an important 2A-4 showdown Friday over the Magazine Rattlers 33-8 on homecoming. The Wildcats forced two turnovers and recovered an onside kick in the first half limiting the Rattlers to only five plays from scrimmage in the second quarter to pull ahead to a 19-0 halftime lead. Hector (5-1, 4-0 2A-4) came up with its first takeaway of the evening on Magazine’s (3-2, 2...

Pirates plunder Danville’s homecoming DANVILLE — The Cedarville Pirates remained atop the 3A-4 Conference standings with Lamar and Charleston after they spoiled the Little Johns homecoming game with a 46-19 win Friday night. Danville (2-3, 0-1 3A-4) took a 6-0 lead when Chance Hayden scored on a 3-yard touchdown. But Cedarville answered with three consecutive touchdowns, including a 57-yard interception return by Casey Sanders that made it 21-6 after the 2-point pass. Corey Finche...

Grizzlies edge out Cyclones 27-20The Russellville Cyclones had won their last six straight and seven of their last eight games against the Fort Smith Northside Grizzlies. However, Russellville is now 1-6 in homecoming games when Northside is the opponent. The Grizzlies led the Cyclones 20-0 through three quarters. Despite that, Russellville scored 20 unanswered points and had the ball in the final two minutes, but Northside came away with the 27-20 victory and its first victo...

Three to be inducted into RHS Hall of FameRussellville alumni Hayden Hipps, Shannon Hocker and Doug Pehrson will be inducted into the Russellville High School (RHS) Hall of Fame during a banquet on Friday in the Center for the Arts. Hocker, who wears Class 6A state championship rings in both soccer and volleyball, was described by Russellville head volleyball coach Cindy Jones as a “quiet leader.” “She started for us all three years and really was a leader,” Jones explained. “She was ...

Hector to take on unbeaten Rattlers on homecomingHECTOR — The Wildcats would be hard pressed to find a more riveting opponent for their homecoming game on Friday at Wildcat Field. Hector, which sits atop the 2A-4 Conference, will take on the No. 2 Magazine Rattlers. Both teams are undefeated in the conference. Fortunately for the Wildcats, both the homecoming excitement and homefield advantage will be on their side. “I think homefield advantage is always big for us,” Hector head coach Mark T...

Devil Dogs outlast RJHS EastThe Russellville Junior High Eastside Whirlwinds couldn’t find their stride soon enough Thursday during their 21-13 loss to the Morrilton Devil Pups at Cyclone Stadium. Fumbles, missed tackles and interceptions spelled disaster for the Whirlwinds. “We’ve got quality kids on the team,” Russellville head coach Eston Jones said. “We just can’t afford to make mistakes. We have a fumble, and that’s going to happen, but for us we need everything to ...

Little Johns will honor a legend tonightDANVILLE — Tonight will be a special night at Little Johns Stadium — not because of the culmination of the annual Homecoming festivities, or just because it’s another football Friday night here. All Danville football players have been asked to stand on the track around the stadium to honor Jack Wilson, also known as “The Voice of the Little Johns” — not just a man, but a Navy man, a fireman, a mail carrier, a coach, a school board member and a...

Junior Sand Lizards beat ApachesPOTTSVILLE — The Dardanelle Junior Sand Lizards won their first conference road game Thursday with a 20-6 victory over the Pottsville Junior Apaches at John Needham Stadium. Pottsville (2-3) controlled the ball for much of the first half and limited Dardanelle to only two offensive possessions. The Sand Lizards got on the board first as Dakota Rowland powered up the middle from one yard out for a touchdown capping off a nine-play, 72-yard driv...

Cyclones prepare for homecoming Russellville Cyclones head coach Jeff Holt wants to avoid shooting himself in the foot when they face the Northside Grizzlies on Friday for homecoming. According to Holt, that’s exactly what happened against the Conway Wampus Cats in Week 4 for the Cyclones’ 7A/6A-Central Conference opener. “We did some good things on the first drive, but we turned the ball over. We have a bad exchange of snaps which puts us behind the chains, and when we come...